"W1:IncomeDiff" 1. Income differences Income differences in Finland have increased rapidly since the mid-1990s. What should one do about it? NA N/A GrowFree Income differences may grow freely GrowMod Income differences may grow moderately Approp Income differences are appropriate ReducSlight Income differences must be reduced slightly ReducMuch Income differences must be reduces significantly "W2:GayAdoption" 2. Gay adoption rights In 2009, the Parliament passed a legislation that allows gay and lesbian couples to adopt each other's children. Should they also be allowed to adopt outside the family? NA N/A 1 Yes 0 No "W3:NuclearPow" 3. Nuclear power plant permissions In Spring 2009, the government grant permissions to two new nuclear power plants. The third applicant, Fortum, did not receive the permission, but is hopeful to get granted a permission to replace two of their reactors in Loviisa. Should this permission be granted? NA N/A 1 Yes 0 No "W4:ChildAlw" 4. Child allowances Child allowance is paid for each child living in Finland until they're 17 years old, irrespective of the parents' income. What should be done for child allowances? NA N/A Remove Child allowances should be removed from high-income families Adjust Child allowances should be adjusted to parents' income Keep Keep current status NoImpact Child allowance should not affect the income support "W5:SeniorCare" 5. Senior's care guarantee The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health is currently planning the so-called Age Law. The law might contain regulations on the minimum quality of care for senior people. Should these requirements be degreed by law and should municipalities provide subjective right for care to all elderly people? NA N/A NoIncrease No. Municipalities' tasks should not be increased. NoRecommend No. It is enough that seniors' care level is set by recommendations. Yes Yes. Seniors should have a subjective right for good care. "W6:RetireAge" 6. Retirement age The current age of retirement to old-age pension is between 63 and 68 years. In my mind, the youngest age for old-age pension should be: NA N/A RaiseByMult Raised by multiple years Reduce Reduced RaiseByOne Raised by one year Keep Kept as it is "W7:ExtWCareer" 7. Extending working careers The current average retirement age in Finland is below 60 years. Main reason for premature retirement is disability. What of the following methods would you use as the primary method for extending working careers. NA N/A RemPartTime I would remove the option for part-time retirement All I would use these all RemAllowance I would remove the right to extended unemployment allowance before the retirement IncAge I would increase the minimum retirement age from 63 years NotAny I would not use any of these "W8:BendIndex" 8. Bend index Since mid-90s, the old-age benefits are adjusted based on what is known as the bend index. Eighty per cent of the index is based on the consumer price index and 20 percent on the average income index. The bend index has meant that the old-age benefits have grown slower than the average income. What should be done to the bend index? NA N/A IncomePrior Average income should have larger effect to the index than consumer prices PricePrior Consumer prices should have larger effect to the index than average income Keep The current index is fine IncSligh The index should follow the income slightly more Fifty The index should be changed back as it used to be, i.e. half income, half consumer prices "W9:CutPblExpend" 9. Cutting public expenditure The new government might decide to cut the public expenditure. Below are some cost-cutting measures that have been proposed. Which one of these would you select first? NA N/A NoIndexBound Social benefits should not be bound on indices RedMunPay Transfer of money from the state to the municipalities should be reduced DropDaycare The subjective right for daycare should be abandoned NoCut State expenditure does not have to be cut RemAllowance Child allowances should be removed from high-income families CutAgri Support for agriculture should be cut CutBusiness Support for businesses should be cut RedDvlAid Development aid funds should be reduced Other Something else RedMilitary Military spending should be reduced "W10:GreekDebt" 10. Greek debt Finland, along with the other Eurozone countries, has helped to save other Eurozone countries with hundreds of billions of euros worth of support. In Spring 2010, Finland agreed to loan 1.6 billion euros to Greece. Furthermore, Finland agreed to guarantee European Financial Stability Facility's 750 billion euro loaned capital with over 8 billion euros. This might not be enough in the long run. Which of the following claims is closest to your opinions? NA N/A Support Finland should support the other countries in the name of European solidarity QuitEuro Finland should abandon the Eurozone as soon as possible EuroWasMstk Joining the Eurozone was a mistake that we must now pay for DebtRestruct Greece should have been put to debt restructuring to avoid the risk of reduced moral in public spending SuppWasMstk Supporting Greece and Ireland was a mistake as each country should deal with their own issues FinInterest Supporting the countries that were in trouble was in Finland's interests, as bankruptcy of any country in the Eurozone would endanger the economy in the whole zone. "W11:TransacTax" 11. Transaction tax The financial crisis has increased the demands to tax the financial sector and to force it to take part in paying the damages. The European Commission has proposed the global transaction tax to tax bond, stock, currency, and derivative transactions. Which of the following claims is closest to your opinions? NA N/A Never Transaction tax makes loaning money harder for privates and businesses alike, weakening the economic growth. It should not be used under any circumstances. YesAlways EU should collect transaction taxes even if the rest of the world does not YesIfOther Transaction tax should be used, but only if it is globally collected "W12:TaxInc" 12. Tax increases Which of the following forms of tax would you be most willing to increase? NA N/A RealEst Real-estate tax Business Business income tax Income Income tax NoneOfThese None of these Energy Energy tax NotAny No taxes should be raised at all VAT Value-added tax Capital I would return the capital tax CapIncome Capital-income tax "W13:TaxDeduc" 13. Tax deductions Taxes are used not only to collect money but also to support certain types of actions by giving them tax deductions. In year 2009 the government lost 13 billion euros of tax income — about one quarter of the annual budget — due to the deductions. To cover these loses, other taxes must be increased. Which of the following deductions would you cut first? NA N/A TFHousingB Tax-free status of housing benefit (lost tax income: 280 Me in 2009) TFChildAll Tax-free status of child allowances (lost tax income: 510 Me in 2009) HouseHDed Household-work deduction (lost tax income: 245 Me in 2009) EmpBenDed Employee-benefit deductions (lost tax income: 260 Me in 2009) UnionFees Labour union fee's reduction from income (lost tax income: 210 Me in 2009) TFHomeSeller Tax-free status of home-seller's profits (lost tax income: 900 Me in 2009) NoneOfThese None of these "W14:MortDeduc" 14. Mortgage interest's tax deduction What should be done for mortgage interest's tax deduction right? NA N/A Extend The tax deduction right should be extended Remove It should be removed completely RemGrad It should be removed gradually with long transition period Keep It should be kept as is "W15:RealEstTax" 15. Real-estate tax Real-estate tax is collected from land meant or used for building. Should the tax be extended to forests and fields as well? NA N/A 1 Yes 0 No "W16:Conscript" 16. Conscription Universal male conscription is practiced in Europe on in Greece and Cyprus, in addition to Finland. How should the Finnish conscript system be organized? NA N/A FemAlso The conscription should be extended to females Quit The conscript system should be abolished Volunteer The military service should be volunteer for both sexes Select The conscript system should be more selective Keep The current system is fine "W17:NATO" 17. NATO Should Finland apply for NATO membership? NA N/A YesIfSwe Yes, if also Sweden applies YesSoon Yes, as soon as possible YesNotSoon Yes, but during the next election term NotSoon Not at least during the next election term Never Never "W18:HumRight" 18. Human rights Should Finland emphasize human rights and democracy in foreign relationships with China and Russia? NA N/A NoFinance No, financial interest should be given priority NoDom No, domestic politics of China and Russia are not Finland's business YesWithEU Yes, but only jointly with the rest of EU YesHumRight Yes, Finnish foreign policy should be founded on human rights and democracy "W19:LandOwn" 19. Russian land-owners From the begin of the year, Russia has banned foreigns to own real estates from its border regions. In Finland, there is virtually no restrictions on foreign land owners and in recent years, Russians have bought thousands of real estates from Finland. What would be the proper course of action? NA N/A ResAllForeign Foreigners' right to buy land and real estates should generally be restricted in Finland NoRestrict Finland should not restrict foreigners' right to buy land or real estates ResRussian Finland should restrict Russians' right to buy land and real estates to achieve parity in the legislation "W20:DvlAid" 20. Development aid Finland has agreed on UN's goal of increasing the development aid funds to 0.7 per cent of GDP by 2015. Last year, Finland paid 965.6 million euros in development aid, that is, 0.55 percent of GDP. What should be done to development aid? NA N/A Remove State money should not be used on development aid NoIncrease Development aid should not be increased Reduce Development aid should not be reduced GrowMod Development aid should be moderately increased if the financial status allows Keep Finland should follow its agreement and increase the development aid to 0.7 per cent during the next election term "W21:FBCountry" 21. Facebook Choose three countries from below that Finland should ask for its Facebook friends, should Finland have a Facebook account. A0 N/A Bolivia Bolivia Brasilia Brasilia UK UK Spain Spain Ghana Ghana India India Iran Iran Island Island Israel Israel Italy Italy Canada Canada China China Cuba Cuba Norway Norway Poland Poland France France Sweden Sweden Germany Germany Tanzania Tanzania Danemark Danemark Tunisia Tunisia Turkey Turkey Russia Russia Estonia Estonia USA USA "W22:Guns" 22. Gun legislation In Fall 2010, the permission to own firearms was made harder to obtain; for example, the minimum age for owning a handgun was raised to 20 years. What should be done to the gun legislation? NA N/A Loosen Gun legislation should be loosened BanHandG Handguns should be made illegal BanHomeStrg Storing handguns to home should be illegal Keep Current gun legislation is fine "W23:VolDomLng" 23. Other domestic language In the compulsory school, the students must study two languages that are not their mother tongue. One of these languages must be the other domestic language. Should studying the other domestic language be made volunteer? NA N/A 1 Yes 0 No "W24:Suvivirsi" 24. Suvivirsi hymn Is is acceptable to sing the Suvivirsi hymn in the end-of-school-year event? NA N/A YesIfAlt Yes, but atheists and followers of other religions must have alternative program 0 No, religious ceremonies do not belong to school YesIfOpt Yes, if atheists and followers of other religions do not have to take part on the singing YesTrad Yes, it is part of the Finnish tradition "W25:Immigration" 25. Immigration policy 2007-2011 electoral term saw Finnish immigration policy becoming more strict. What is your opinion about the current immigration policy of Finland? NA N/A TooStrict It is too strict TooLoose It is too loose Fine It is fine "W26:SaimaaSeal" 26. Saimaa ringed seal Saimaa ringed seal is endangered species, with population of approximately 270 individuals. Some estimates consider its extinction ”very probable.” So far, the conservation efforts have been based mostly on volunteer actions, such as fishing restrictions. How should the conservation be done? NA N/A TooMuch The conservation measures are already too much WNetBan Fishing with nets should be completely banned in the whole Lake Saimaa WNetBandAndBuild In addition of completely banning net fishing in the whole Lake Saimaa also building on the shores should be made harder Keep Current conservation measures are enough LocNetBan Fishing with nets should be banned on the areas where the seal nests "W27:MunOutsource" 27. Municipal outsourcing Municipal have outsourced their services in recent years, and the pressure to outsource more is increasing. Which of the following claims best matches with your opinions? NA N/A OpenAll All services provided by the municipalities should be opened for competition and the municipalities should automatically outsource all services IncButChoose Outsourcing should be increased as private companies are more effective on producing the services but municipalities have the final word on what to outsource NoneOfThese None of these Reduce Outsourced services should be returned back to the municipalities. Municipalities have legal obligation to provide these services, so they should also produce them IncAndLearn Outsourcing should be increased, but municipalities should learn to request the quotes and chose the providers more carefully NoInc Outsourcing should not be increased from the current level, as outsourcing has the risk of reduced quality and does not provide significant savings "W28:MunNb" 28. Number of municipalities The number of municipalities in Finland has reduced to 336 due to mergers. The goal of the mergers is to improve the efficiency, as many small municipalities have issues on producing their required services. What would be a good number of municipalities is Finland? NA N/A 400 More than 400 340 340-400 0 Less than 170 170 170-229 230 230-289 290 290-339 "W29:CptRegMerger" 29. Capital Region mergers Merging the municipalities in the Capital Region area has been discussed for long time. Per proponents, the mergers would help on planning the traffic and use of land. The leadership of Helsinki are in support of the mergers, while their counterparts in Espoo and Vantaa are against it. Also the future Parliament and government have their words to say. What should be done? NA N/A Must The merger must happen, even if the government must force it Keep Current status is fine NewCouncil The municipalities should be kept, but the area should have a new, elected regional council that should be responsible for most of the tasks the municipalities currently handle VoluntCoop Collaboration should be increased, but based on voluntary "W30:EqlTransfer" 30. Equalization transfers Government transfers money from richer to poorer municipalities to balance their fiscal state. The system guarantees every municipality fiscal income that is 91.86 per cent of the average municipal fiscal income. The largest payers of the system are Helsinki and Espoo: 500 million euros of municipal taxes are transferred from them to poorer municipalities. How should one think about the system? NA N/A RemEq Equalization system should be abolished MoreEq Capital region should transfer more municipal income to elsewhere in country LessEq Capital region should be allowed to keep more of their municipal tax income Keep The curernt system is fine "W31:GvtPrt" 31. Parties in government Name exactly three parties you think should definitely be part of the next government. IDP No affiliation YS Non-aligned IPU Independency Party Itsenäisyyspuolue http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Itsen%C3%A4isyyspuolue KES Centre Party Keskusta http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_Party_%28Finland%29 KOK National Coalition Party Kokoomus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Coalition_Party KA For the Poor Köyhien asialla http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_the_Poor KD Christian Democrats Kristillisdemokraatit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_Democrats_%28Finland%29 KTP Communist Workers' Party – For Peace and Socialism Kommunistinen Työväenpuolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Workers%27_Party_%E2%80%93_For_Peace_and_Socialism M2011 Change 2011 Muutos 2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_2011 PS True Finns Perussuomalaiset http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finns_Party PIR Pirate Party of Finland Piraattipuolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Party_%28Finland%29 RKP Swedish People's Party of Finland Suomen ruotsalainen kansanpuolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_People%27s_Party_of_Finland SDP Social Democratic Party of Finland Suomen Sosialidemokraattinen Puolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_of_Finland SEN Seniors’ Party Suomen Senioripuolue http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suomen_Senioripuolue SKP Communist Party of Finland Suomen Kommunistinen Puolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Finland STP Workers Party of Finland Suomen Työväenpuolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workers_Party_of_Finland VP Freedom Party – Finland's Future Vapauspuolue http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_and_White_Front VAS Left Alliance Vasemmistoliitto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Left_Alliance_%28Finland%29 VIHR Green League Vihreät http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_League